They might not have been able to close out the tournament with a win, but Team Saskatchewan still managed to make things interesting in their final game at the Baseball Canada 13U national championship.
Moose Jaw Canucks standouts Neal Kohl and Zaid Guillaume were among 15 of the top 13-and-under players from throughout the province taking part in the event in Woodstock, Ont. during the past week.
Saskatchewan put together a 2-2 record in the round robin and just missed reaching the medal round, taking a 14-7 win over Manitoba in their opener before falling 21-4 to Ontario 1 and 13-5 to Quebec 2. They then closed out the preliminary round with a 5-3 win over the hosts from Woodstock.
That sent Team Sask into the ninth-tenth place game against Manitoba on Sunday morning, where they’d score runs in each of the first three innings to lead 3-0, only to see Manitoba get all of that back and then some with five in the fourth. Saskatchewan made it a one-run game in the bottom of the inning but would get no closer, as Manitoba scored three in the fifth and five in the seventh to take a 13-4 win.
Kohl continued to swing a hot bat, hitting a pair of doubles in three trips to the plate and knocking in Team Sask’s runs in the first and third innings.
All told, Kohl would end up hitting .500 for the tournament, hitting four doubles and knocking in five runs.
Guilaume had a single plate appearance and struck out, finishing without a hit in four at bats during the event.
Gullaume also saw action on the mound and was Saskatchewan’s final pitcher in the tournament, getting the final two outs of the game without giving up a hit and striking out one.
You can check out all the scores from the weekend at www.baseball.ca.
